JPH05189923A - Recorded cassette for magnetic signal recording/ regenerating system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To obtain an already recorded cassette with more desirable appearance by recording respective information of the recording time and the present position on a tape in the form of a time sequencing code. CONSTITUTION: The mark of a readable tape length is prescribed for an yet unrecorded cassette 3, by a standard related to a digital compact cassette system, and the mark displays the length of the magnetic tape within the cassette by the pattern of holes 33, 35 and 37 within mark display part 39 at a main wall part 19. The cassette 1 already recorded is provided without any holes on the places within a mark displaying area. The recording time of the present position of the magnetic tape in the cassette 1 is recorded on the tape in the shape of the time sequencing code. In addition, the cassette 1 is based on a standard regulating an erasure-preventing hole which can be closed by a shielding member, provided on the wall part of the cassette.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is a system for performing at least one of magnetic recording of a signal on a magnetic tape and magnetic reproduction of a signal from the magnetic tape based on a standard. A cassette having two main walls and a plurality of intersecting walls connecting them, wherein the recorded tape appears (recorded cassette) and the unrecorded tape appears. There is a (non-recorded cassette), and the standard defines a tape length mark that can be read by a device, which indicates the length of the magnetic tape in the cassette by a pattern of holes in the mark display part on the main wall of the cassette. That the tape length mark includes a plurality of mark elements forming a code consisting of a plurality of bits, and the value of each bit is defined by the presence or absence of the hole. It relates the recorded cassette used for the stem.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a cassette for a system which records and / or reproduces video and / or audio based on a standard, a recorded cassette is usually provided to a user in addition to an unrecorded cassette which is recorded by the consumer himself. As such recorded cassettes that have been sold in large quantities, for example, a well-known compact cassette in which music is recorded,
There is a well-known VHS type video cassette in which a movie is recorded on a tape.

The "standard" in this specification means a system composed of a plurality of devices and recording media suitable for recording and / or reproducing signals on a magnetic tape. , Electrical, data array, mechanical and magnetic parameters defining the documents used by one or more manufacturers.

By the way, in a standard-based system in the prior art, a pattern of three holes, which is covered or not covered by a wall portion, is used to encode the recording time of the cassette. It is known to use standards-based videocassettes for recording and / or playback (US Pat.
No. 4,339,776 [Philips Corp. reference number PHO 78.513]), a device in such a system has a sensor pin that cooperates with the hole to detect the pattern of the hole and transfer the pattern information to the microprocessor of the device. On the basis of the pattern information, it is possible to detect whether the programmed image recording exceeds or exceeds the available recording time of the cassette.

The term "hole" used in this specification means
It means a relatively shallow depression with or without a bottom or cover.

[0006]

However, in the above-mentioned known prerecorded cassette, since the recording at home was not originally intended, it is considered that the presence of the coded hole is very useful. I didn't understand. Similarly, displaying the tape length corresponding to the recording time based on the standard on the above-mentioned recorded cassette did not seem to be very useful.

However, this means that recorded cassettes always have some length of unrecorded tape, which is a waste of tape.
And it is only in exceptional cases that the recorded contents occupy all of the standard length of the tape.

In principle, the presence of the tape length mark in the cassette is also available in the case of a prerecorded cassette, by means of which by means of suitable electronic means of the device, the elapsed time and residuals on the display panel. It is possible to display the recording time of. However, even in that case, the last-mentioned parameter, that is, the remaining recording time is not accurate due to the existence of the unrecorded tape length in the cassette described above.

Furthermore, displaying the required code on the cassette requires additional manufacturing steps for the manufacturer, thus contributing to higher costs. Also, the presence of holes in the cassette increases the likelihood of ingress of dust and other contaminants, and the presence of its display area prohibits the use of that area of the cassette for other purposes.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore one of the objects of the present invention to provide a recorded cassette which not only does not have the problems mentioned above, but which also has the advantage of an aesthetically pleasing appearance. In order to achieve such an object, in the recorded cassette of the present invention, the tape length mark does not exist in the recorded cassette, and the information regarding the recording time and the information regarding the current position are in the form of time series codes. The data is recorded on a magnetic tape in the recorded cassette.

The present invention has the advantage that recorded cassettes can be handled differently than unrecorded cassettes resulting in a more sophisticated system which can be adapted to its unique characteristics. Thus, according to the invention, it is possible to read the information by means of the code which comes from the tape during the use of the cassette, and therefore a suitable information processing means, in the form of a microprocessor or the like, a suitable software and a suitable display. It becomes possible to provide the user with information regarding the elapsed time and the remaining recording time by the device having the unit. In addition, the absence of the code display hole in the cassette reduces unnecessary stain in the recorded cassette.

Further, according to the present invention, the tape accommodated in the cassette is exactly required, and it is not necessary to make the tape longer than that. Therefore,
If necessary, the tape thickness for the recorded cassette may deviate from the thickness specified in the standard for unrecorded cassettes. Modifying is advantageous to ensure a clear relationship between recording time and tape length.

The clear relationship between the recording time and the tape length is such that the device in the system can measure the remaining recording time of the partially used tape by a rotation measuring instrument connected to the winding shaft of the device. Known technology determined by (US-PS 4,172,231, US-PS 4,366,371,
US-PS 4,398,300, US-PS 4,408,335, US-PS
4,411,008, US-PS 4,357,643, and US Reissue Patent Re 30,939)) to enable effective use.

The information on the recorded magnetic tape proposed by the applicant as described above, in which the information on the recording time and the information on the current position on the tape are recorded in the form of time-series codes, is desirable. Functions (Dutch patent application 90-02319 [Phillips reference number PHN 13.4
85], 90-02446 [Japanese Patent Application No. 3-292,611: Philips reference number PHN 13.501], 91-00198 [Philips reference number PHN 13.583] and 91-00475 [Japan Japanese Patent Application No. 4-57,944: Philips reference number
PHN 13.630]).

The present invention is for a cassette of a system based on a standard that defines a tape length mark displayed in the form of a hole pattern in a mark display portion on the cassette and includes a recorded tape in addition to an unrecorded tape. The above-mentioned time-series code is based on the recognition of the fact that, for recorded tapes only, it can be surprisingly advantageously employed in combination with the elimination of tape length marks.

By the way, the above-mentioned standard based on the known prior art also defines an erasure prevention hole provided in the wall portion of the cassette, which can be closed by a shielding member, and the shielding member has three different positions. Can be set to. That is, at one of these positions, the hole provided in the wall of the cassette is closed, and at the other position, the possibility of recording a signal on the tape is eliminated or such recording is enabled. Therefore, the hole is opened. Then, in the third position, the manufacturer sets the shielding member in such a way that only after disassembling the cassette, it can be moved to one of the previous two positions, and the third position is also based on the standard. Do not allow signal recording on equipment. The cassette in which the shielding member is set in the third position is used in a special nonstandard device for manufacturing a recorded cassette in which erasure prevention is ignored.

Thus, an advantageous embodiment of the prerecorded cassette of the invention for use in a system according to the standard which defines a erasure-proof hole which can be closed with a shielding member in the wall of the cassette is an advantageous embodiment of the previously described prerecorded cassette. The cassette does not have the erasure prevention holes, and therefore the recording on the magnetic tape in the recorded cassette cannot normally be erased, and the recorded cassette is recorded by the device included in the system. The feature is that it is not suitable.

An advantage of the above-described embodiment of the invention is that no extra construction is required to prevent recording on the pre-recorded cassette, and there are no extra holes in the cassette wall. This improves the protection inside the cassette against the ingress of dust and dirt and contributes to giving the cassette a pleasing appearance.

A further embodiment of the invention is characterized in that the prerecorded cassette has preprinted labels for the records on the magnetic tape in the prerecorded cassette.

In this regard, the applicant has already proposed a recorded cassette with printed labels for recording on tape (European patent application EP 9020329).
No. 7.8 (See Philips reference number PHN 13.345)),
The use of printed labels in the cassettes of this invention allows the relationship between the information provided on the label and the record on the tape to remain indefinitely the original because the user of the cassette cannot make other records on the tape. It is particularly advantageous that it is retained, and only then does the presence of printed labels on the recorded magnetic tape cassette lead to user confusion.

Therefore, until the present invention, the magnetic tape cassette is regarded as a suitable recording medium for home programs, while a disc-shaped recording medium such as a record disc or an optical disc is used for permanent recording. Though considered to be the only medium of choice, this invention
This led to a fundamental departure from the viewpoint, and for the first time brought a magnetic tape cassette as a permanent recording medium, which made the magnetic tape cassette highly convenient for both permanent recording and home recording. For the first time, a complete evaluation was made of the fact that it is a medium that it has and is easy to handle.

[0022]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 to 4 show an embodiment of a recorded cassette for a magnetic signal recording / reproducing system of the present invention. A magnetic tape is accommodated in a recorded cassette 1 of this embodiment by a known method. However, the magnetic tape is not shown for simplification of the drawing.

The recorded cassette 1 here is one of the systems which have been disclosed as one of the systems for magnetically recording a signal on a magnetic tape and / or magnetically reproducing a signal therefrom based on the standard. , A so-called "Digital Compact Cassette (DCC) system" including a plurality of devices and a cassette suitable for the device, and the cassette included in the system includes two main walls that are parallel to each other and a plurality of connecting walls. With crossing walls of
Some of the cassettes have a recorded tape (recorded cassette 1) and some have an unrecorded tape (unrecorded cassette 3, see FIGS. 5 to 8).

For further information regarding the above-mentioned digital compact cassette (DCC) system and cassettes used therein, see, for example, the patent application previously filed by the present applicant [Philips Corp. reference number PHN 13.185].
Please refer to etc.

Thus, the recorded cassette 1 of this embodiment has the main walls 5 and 7 and the cross walls 9, 11, 13 and
15 and has a sliding cover 17 for opening and closing several holes of the cassette, while the unrecorded cassette 3 has main walls 19 and 21 and cross walls. 23, 25, 27 and 29, and a slide type cover 31.

The standard for the digital compact cassette system (DCC standard) defines a tape length mark that can be read by a device (not shown) especially for the unrecorded cassette 3, and the mark is Set the length of the magnetic tape in the cassette to the mark display area 39 on the main wall 19.
It is displayed according to the pattern of holes 33, 35, and 37 inside. The tape length mark for the cassette 3 includes a plurality of mark elements forming a code composed of a plurality of bits, and the value of each bit is defined by the presence or absence of the holes 33, 35, 37.

In the example of the unrecorded cassette 3 shown in the figure, all three holes are opened, but as is clear from the above description, the number of holes actually opened depends on the length of the magnetic tape in the cassette. Based on. It is practically advantageous to provide the unrecorded cassette with the main wall portion 19 having the pattern of the three perforated wall portions in the mark display area 39. This is because, in this way, when the cassette is manufactured, the corresponding part is manufactured with a single mold, and then one or more parts of the wall part are punched to form the tape length mark pattern. This is because it is possible to adopt a step of corresponding to the length of the magnetic tape loaded in the cassette.

On the other hand, the recorded cassette 1 of this embodiment does not have any holes at all positions in the mark display area. However, as described above, the recording time and the current position of the magnetic tape in the cassette 1 are recorded on the magnetic tape in the form of time series codes.

The above digital compact cassette
The recorded cassette 1 of this embodiment included in the (DCC) system is therefore also based on a standard which defines an erasure-proof hole in the wall of the cassette which can be closed with a shielding member. In FIG. 5, the shielding member provided only on the unrecorded cassette is shown on the unrecorded cassette 3 according to the DCC standard.
41, which is schematically indicated by a broken line with reference numeral 41, the user of the cassette can move the shielding member 41 by a pin 43 movable in the long hole 45.

The unrecorded cassette 3 has two holes, a hole 51 in the side wall and a hole 45 in the main wall 19, for preventing erasure. The latter hole is a part of the long hole 45. It is formed by its lower part (see FIG. 5). When the pin 43 is moved downward in FIG. 5 to close the lower part of the long hole 45 together with the hole 51, erasure prevention becomes effective.

On the other hand, since the recorded cassette 1 of this embodiment has no erasure prevention hole, the erasure prevention is always effective, and therefore the digital compact cassette (DCC) system described above is used. The included device typically cannot erase the records on the magnetic tape in its cassette 1. In addition, it is extremely difficult to make holes corresponding to the holes 51 and 45 at home because it is necessary to drill holes at positions corresponding to them accurately. In addition, drilling often breaks the cassette, making it unsuitable for future use.

The recorded cassette 1 and the unrecorded cassette 3 of the above embodiment are provided with holes 59 and 61 of a type readable by the apparatus (see FIGS. 4 and 8). The holes 59 and 61 allow the cassettes 1 and 3 to be distinguished from the well-known analog compact cassette.

Further, the recorded cassette 1 of the above embodiment
Has a pre-indelible printed label 55 indicating information about the normally unerasable recordings on the magnetic tape in the cassette, which label 55 may, for example, It is arranged below the transparent window 57 fixed by sonic bonding.

Although the above description is based on the illustrated example, the present invention is not limited to the above example. That is, the invention departs from the illustrated embodiment and is within the scope of the claims herein to define the tape length mark on the cassette and to include both recorded and unrecorded cassettes. All of these embodiments are applicable if the basic idea of the present invention is obtained by deliberately removing from the recorded cassette the tape length mark consisting of the coded hole in the standards-based system. Yes, in the present invention, preferably the erasure prevention holes are also deliberately removed from the recorded cassette.

Further, for example, the system based on the standard may have a mark display area at another position, may use marks having different numbers of holes, as compared with the illustrated example. Different configurations may be used for erasure prevention. The present invention can be applied not only to so-called audio cassettes for audio, but also to other systems such as a system for recording and / or reproducing image signals and computer programs.

Advantages of the invention other than those mentioned herein may also be brought into practice, and may be compared to prior art techniques other than those described herein to further enhance the invention. The benefits will be clear.

In addition, for complete understanding of the present invention, the code holes 59 and 61 of the recorded cassette 1 and the unrecorded cassette 3 are irrelevant to the present invention, and the device simply uses a DCC cassette as an analog type. It is only provided to allow identification from the compact cassette.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment in which a recorded cassette for a magnetic signal recording / reproducing system according to the present invention is applied to a system for recording and / or reproducing a digital audio signal.
It is a bottom view which shows one main wall part.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the cassette shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an arrow of FIG. 1 of the cassette shown in FIGS.
It is an arrow view which shows the side surface seen from the III direction.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the cassette shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 as viewed from the bottom side.

5 is a bottom view showing one main wall portion of an unrecorded cassette for a system that performs at least one of recording and reproducing of the digital audio signal, similarly to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the cassette shown in FIG.

7 is an arrow of FIG. 5 of the cassette shown in FIGS. 5 and 6;
FIG. 7 is an arrow view showing a side surface viewed from the VII direction.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the cassette shown in FIGS. 5 to 7 as viewed from the bottom side.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Recorded cassette 3 Unrecorded cassette 19 Main wall 33, 35, 37 holes 39 Mark display area 55 Label

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (71) Applicant 591117147 Polygram International Holding B / B POLYGRAM INTERNATIO NAL HOLDING BESLOTE N VENNOOTSHAP Netherlands 3743 Dei Nuvarn Herit van der Feernlern 4 (72) Inventor Cornelis Fanne Country W1 X5 ICH London Valerie Square 30 (72) Inventor Norbert Kristian Formann Holland 5621 Behr Aindow Fenflune Bautzwech 1

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A system for magnetically recording a signal on a magnetic tape and / or magnetically reproducing a signal from the magnetic tape according to a standard, comprising a plurality of devices and a cassette suitable for the device. A cassette has two main walls and a plurality of intersecting walls connecting them, and there are a cassette in which a recorded tape appears (recorded cassette) and a cassette in which an unrecorded tape appears (unrecorded cassette). Yes, the standard defines a tape length mark that can be read by a device, which indicates the length of the magnetic tape in the cassette by a pattern of holes in the mark display portion of the main wall of the cassette. Is used in a system in which a Samark includes a plurality of mark elements forming a code composed of a plurality of bits, and the value of each bit is defined by the presence or absence of the hole. In the recorded cassette, the recorded tape does not have the tape length mark, and the information regarding the recording time and the information regarding the current position are
A recorded cassette for a magnetic signal recording / reproducing system, which is recorded on a magnetic tape in the recorded cassette in the form of a time series code. 2. A recorded cassette used in a system based on a standard that defines an erasure prevention hole that can be closed by a shield member on a wall portion of the cassette, wherein the erasure prevention hole does not exist in the recorded cassette. Therefore, the recording on the magnetic tape in the recorded cassette cannot be normally erased, and the recorded cassette is not suitable for recording by the device included in the system. A recorded cassette for a magnetic signal recording / reproducing system according to claim 1. 3. The magnetic signal recording / reproducing system according to claim 2, wherein the recorded cassette has a pre-printed label for recording on a magnetic tape in the recorded cassette. Recorded cassette.